The I-130 affidavit is simply a legal statement from a third party that describes your relationship. In these instances, it’s beneficial to have a secondary form of evidence known as an affidavit. So they don’t even have a shared residence.

They can’t live together until the spouse is able to immigrate to the United States. What’s more, many couples are separated by distance. RECOMMENDED: Best Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage to Support a Spousal I-130 Petition Purpose of the I-130 Affidavitįor many new couples, they haven’t had time to combine bank accounts or have children. Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together.īut what if you’ve just recently married? Or you haven’t lived together in the same country yet? It can be very difficult to provide documentation as described above.Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources or.A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together.

Documentation showing joint ownership of property.USCIS instructions for Form I-130 require that you to submit one or more of the following types of documentation to prove a bona fide marriage: It’s not as simple as producing a marriage certificate. Your evidence for proving a bona fide marriage with the I-130 petition should ideally include documents demonstrating that you’ve combined your lives, especially financially. Learn more > Proof of a Bona Fide Marriage This affidavit of support is submitted along with an adjustment of status application or during the consular application process. The I-130 petition beneficiary generally needs to submit a Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, along with his or her green card application. The burden of proof is on the couple to establish the bona fides of the marriage.Īre you looking for an affidavit of support? The affidavit of support is a different document. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes additional steps to ensure these spousal relationships are genuine, bona fide marriages. These “fake” marriages can result in harsh penalties, including steep fines and jail time. A sham marriage is when at least one of the parties of a marriage entered into the marriage for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws to falsely obtain a green card (or other immigration benefits). They must prove that they have a “real” marriage. citizens or lawful permanent residents that want to petition a spouse for a green card have an additional burden (compared to other family-based immigration cases). This I-130 affidavit sample can help couples gather additional evidence from friends and family to support the petition. This can be challenging for a couple that hasn’t had time to join financial accounts or have children. When filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of a spouse, it’s necessary to submit evidence that you have a genuine, bona fide marriage.

Sworn affidavit example